Aberdeen MRT members

A mountain rescue team that grew out of a collection of hillwalking club members and Territorial Army volunteers is celebrating its golden anniversary.

Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Team marks its 50th anniversary this year, with a number of events starting with a sponsored walk early next month.

The volunteers of the Westhill-based team cover the whole of the Grampian region, including parts of Deeside, Donside and the Cairngorms.

The team was formed in 1964 from members of the then Adventure Club and interested local mountaineers. Its formation came at a time when mountain rescue in north-east Scotland and elsewhere was less formally organised.

An Aberdeen MRT spokesperson said: “The structure in those days was one that involved members of local hillwalking clubs and Territorial Army volunteers organised by a local co-ordinator.

“Rescue was, as it still is in many areas, also supported to a large extent by local keepers, stalkers and shepherds.

“Although their efforts were sterling and given with good grace it was generally felt to be an unfair onus to place on those people whose employment caused them to live in the mountains.

Team members in 1969

“Increasing mountain usage and increasing accident figures also caused the police to think that a formal MRT structure should be in place. In this climate AMRT was born.

“AMRT was formed in response to a growing awareness that there needed to be a more structured approach to the problem of organising search and rescue operations in the area of the Cairngorms and the lower hills of Deeside and Donside.

“Over the past 50 the team has busied itself with developing a professional approach to mountain rescue and one which ensures that members of the team are highly skilled as both mountaineers and mountain rescuers.”

The team’s 35 unpaid volunteer members are supported by the Aberdeen and St John Mountain Rescue Association in raising the £40,000 annual cost of running the rescue organisation.

In the mid-1990s the then Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Association changed its name to the Aberdeen and St John Mountain Rescue Association in recognition of the support received locally from the Order of St John.

The team's modern Land Rover vehicles

The order has played an important part in the overall development of Aberdeen MRT, providing considerable financial support over the years. In 1995 the Order provided a new purpose built HQ at Westhill, which was officially opened by the Duke of Gloucester in 1997.

The team spokesperson said: “While many callouts are rescuing hillwalkers and climbers in the mountains, a large number of callouts involve searches for missing persons and these can be anywhere within the Grampian region.

“So far this year the team have been involved in nine separate callouts with one being a multi-day search.”

The Aberdeen team uses two bothies for training weekends and when on callouts. One is at the Spittal of Muick and one at Derry Lodge on the Mar Estate. The team spokesperson said the use of these bothies gives the members a base close to their area of operation when called out to rescues in the Cairngorms.

Members come from a range of backgrounds, including doctors, oil industry workers and teachers. Notable incidents in the team’s 50 year history include the Cairngorm disaster of 1971; a light aircraft crashing into the waters of Loch Muick in 1992; a search for a missing child in Aberdeen in 1997 and the fatal crash of two F-15 fighter jets on the summit of Ben MacDui in 2001.

The team’s annual sponsored 23km (14-mile) walk starts from Glen Tanar Estate on Saturday 7 June. Also taking part will be Search and Rescue Dogs Association animals Coby and Flynn, who along with their handlers work with the tem.

Team members training on Lochnagar in the early years

On Saturday 12 July the team will be in Union Square, Aberdeen from 10am to 5pm to give the public an opportunity to meet the members, ask any questions and see the sort of equipment and communications that they use. They will also have a number of pieces of equipment from the 1960s.

On 11 September, Mark Beaumont, record-breaking long-distance Scottish cyclist, adventurer, broadcaster, documentary maker and author will give a talk, after taking part in the Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton relay.

On 1 November there will be a fundraising ceilidh at the Hilton Treetops, Aberdeen, with dancing to Ceol Mhor.

Dawn MacKinnon, chairman of the Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Association said: “Over 50 years many people owe their lives to the team and teams like ours who head to the hills, or glens or even remote parts of Aberdeenshire and the Grampians often in atrocious weather conditions.

“While there have been many changes over the years in terms of equipment, and especially communications, what has not changed is the willingness of volunteers to forfeit their time in order to help others.

“We really hope that the people of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will come to see our exhibit and hear our talk, meet the team members and also support our fundraising.”

More details of the team can be found on the Aberdeen MRT website.